Surprise! Those Yavin 4 Star Wars Plot Leaks Were Wrong

The interwebs were abuzz earlier this week when a Reuters article seemed to suggest that Star Wars: Episode VII would return to the ancient Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, which was the location used to film the Yavin 4 exteriors in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Here's the original statement from Reuters:

"Yavin 4 and the rebel base return to the Star Wars plot in the forthcoming Episode VII, announced in October by the Walt Disney Co, in which Skywalker comes back to the planet to build a Jedi Knight academy. However, fans said that Disney will likely film those scenes in a studio rather than return to Tikal."

Naturally, this offhand remark piqued quite a bit of interest -- but mostly just skepticism. Indeed, TheForce.net reports that this scoop was false. Here's what Reuters writer Michael McDonald told the outlet in a recent followup:

"This was a mistake. I misunderstood what fan clubs had told me and shown me in book plots and that storyline has not been announced by Disney. Perhaps I should have written something along the lines of 'Yavin 4 appears in several Star Wars book plots and while Guatemala fans said they hope film crews return to Tikal, the company has not announced plans for the new episode.'"

Yeah, perhaps you should have, Michael.

So there you have it. As Stormtrooper #2 would say, "Move along, move along."

Exit Theatre Mode

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.